Excerpts from Amma's Benedictory Address on the Occasion of Her 49th Birthday, September 2002

Utsavam (festivity) is the state in which the mind overflows with Divine Love, when the Love that is within us finds expression in external activities. My children should pray for the peace and welfare of one and all, rather than indulging in outward exhibition. Mutual love is practically the only remaining treasure that we now possess. In this age, material comforts have increased manifold. The latest discoveries and inventions in science have made life easier and more comfortable. Yet, the one common emotion that is encountered in everybody is fear. Some are afraid that they may lose all that they possess, while others fear that they may die before gaining anything worthwhile in this lifetime.

When the national treasury is depleted, we resort to loans from the World Bank. If the prevailing circumstances continue, i.e. we lose our indigenous culture and values, then Amma feels that we will have to borrow even cultural values from elsewhere.

Not a single day passes without our hearing some bad news. It is true that earthquakes and floods are events beyond the control of humankind. But war, criminal activities, poverty, corruption - if we were to try wouldn't we be able to eliminate these to some extent?

Medical science has found cures for most diseases caused by germs. But diseases caused by conflicts within the human mind have increased considerably.

Today, machines are available to do all types of work. In modern life, one does not require anybody else's support or help to get by. Many people feel that they don't require anybody else's help or support to be happy. Since their happiness is not dependent on others, they do not harbour any thoughts about other people's happiness. Instead of a society based on mutual love and co-operation, today we are in the midst of a society that is fragmented into isolated units and harbours the feeling of otherness.

The human race has benefited a lot due to advances made in science. But we should not conclude that all our problems will be solved just because of this. We have a world within us. As long as we neglect this world, our problems - be they wars, criminal activities, emotional conflicts - will never cease. Abundance of wealth, abundance of machinery, changes in the mode of governance - none of these will solve our problems.

A revolution is required now. Not a worldly revolution, today the need is of a spiritual revolution. It will not come about by passing a law in parliament, nor will it come about by a favourable Supreme Court verdict. Only if each individual imbibes spirituality and adheres to his dharma (duties), will this spiritual revolution come about. This is the only way to bring about peace, welfare and prosperity in the world. Everything has its own dharma. At the onset, we must learn how to make proper use of the freedom that we enjoy today. Traffic rules have not been laid out with the intention of curbing our freedom to drive.

We encounter various situations in life. Sometimes we may have the freedom to decide the course of our actions. At other times we do not have this freedom - we can only accept the situation. In situations in which we are free to decide the course of our actions, we should not remain idle thinking that everything is God's will, but, using our discrimination, we should resort to the right course of action. But in a situation in which we have no freedom to act, we should try to accept it as the Divine Will.

Life is like a game of cards. No matter what cards we are dealt, we should use them to try to win the game. None of us can decide where or in what circumstances to be born. Many born into calamity-ridden circumstances conclude that life is not worth living; that there is no way to succeed under such circumstances. But if we take each step in our life with care, we can succeed even in the face of daunting circumstances.

Shraddha (awareness, alertness, carefulness -- in thoughts and deeds; plus an awareness of the Goal) in each word we utter, in our thoughts and in our actions is spirituality. If we continuously maintain this awareness within ourselves, we will be able to gain peace and happiness in our lives. If we don't do what is called for at the required time, then all our actions will go to waste.

In the case of thoughts too, attention and awareness are utmost necessities. What types of thoughts should we foster? What types of thoughts should we avoid? We must have a clear understanding about this. Thoughts are subtle. To control them requires more awareness and alertness.

Even a single thought has infinite inherent power. Each thought is like an atom in the atomic bomb. One bad thought is enough to trigger a thousand bad thoughts within a short time. Thoughts then become words and actions and sow destruction. Snow falls on the mountain tops in the form of tiny snowflakes. These grow into mountains of snow and form big rivers. In the same manner, when bad thoughts first come we are often not aware of them. In a short span of time, they transform into an irrepressible force. We lose our discrimination and leap headlong into bad actions. These thoughts even transform our character.

Leading life without discrimination is like shooting without taking aim. Sometimes it may have very harmful effects.

We have to say 'yes' in certain situations in life and 'no' in other situations. Many of the problems that arise in life are due to our having said 'yes' in situations where we should have said 'no.'

One of the reasons why we are not fully aware of things as they are is the preconceived notions that we harbour in our minds. Because our minds are full of preconceived notions and expectations, we are unable to enjoy life. Meditation is one of the ways to remove the preconceived notions from our minds and to bring about proper awareness. It helps us to be aware of the egoistic and negative tendencies in our minds

Patience is a great asset. Patience is the antibiotic that destroys the germs of bad feelings like anger. Patience helps us to have a proper perspective of the thoughts that we entertain. If a person commits a mistake, we should not abhor the person but the mistake. Even if we have to punish a person, deep within ourselves we should have love towards him.